Taint of Nocturnal
by Miki girl
Summary: The Taint... It is not a person or a thing... It is an evil that silently kills all life. Join a rag-tag group from both the Horde and Alliance as they fight their way through the Taint filled land of Azeroth and try to find the source of it all. With the return of the Taint, the Dark God Nocturnal, has awoken and only chaos awaits for those who dare go against her...
1. So it begins

Chapter 1

Entry from Master Warlock Azkar Nightbanee

_The Taint.  
It is not a person or a creature... It is not a common disease that can be cured with simple potions like we had thought it could be.  
The Cure is fatal to the one who casts it upon the Tainted... The Cure takes the life of the one casting it while the Taint leaves the body of the sick… Although the caster must be willing to give their life or Nocturnal will reject it and the Tainted individual will carry the Taint until it consumes and destroys them.  
Those with the Taint either die or are killed to try and stop the spread or they become one of the Taint Guardians, beings who have given in to the power of the Taint and used it to gain Demonic powers as they lay in their final moments of life… They seem much like the Forsaken, the living undead except they still have a beating heart, I should look more into this and discover what truly happens… This would require several individuals who have been Tainted, I should start looking for perfect subjects soon._

_The Taint was said to have disappeared centuries ago but studies show that it is returning... The only way to stop the Taint is to kill the Keeper. This is difficult to do seeing as normally the Keeper themselves do not know they are the Keepers of the Taint until it consumes them and changes them into powerful beings that control Dark Magic.  
They are Horrors.  
The last Keeper was killed centuries ago and we thought it ended the Taint... Just before we killed the Keeper perhaps she had an Heir? One who would carry the Taint in their blood until the day it would resurface? The day Nocturnal was killed, the former Keeper, she said the Taint would never die... Would return one day...  
Maybe we should've heeded her warning. Her people, the Night Elves, have checked newborn after newborn for any signs of the Taint as have the other races... Maybe we should have sent the Warlocks to the little villages to check... Maybe then we could have stopped the Taint before it begun to kill innocents... But it is too late, the Taint is once again spreading across Azeroth with nothing to stop it. The research that was written down centuries ago were locked and forgotten in an old ruined city that no one knows the where bouts too, even if we did find the city it was said that the Gods constructed a mountain around it to seal evidence of the Taint within. We must start by scratch and figure out how the Cure worked, find suitable willing Sacrifices, the words used to call upon Nocturnal to Cure the Tainted and take the Caster's life... I hope we can stop this Taint before it becomes worse than the Scourge attacks... I fear many will lose their lives to the Taint... And then there will be nothing left but decaying bodies upon Azeroth...  
I must return to the books and see if I can find more on the Taint... There are very few books still intact that hold some information of the Taint, so far we only know that it came from the Nether when a dark powerful Warlock hungered for power to kill thousands… quietly, painfully, a Demon called... What was it? Oh yes! Nocturnal, the very same who was the Keeper I remember now! She granted him the power of the Taint; just before the Warlock was killed Nocturnal took her Gift for herself... She possessed a young Night Elven woman's body and spread the Taint, never drawing attention to herself until the day a Blood Elf had managed to escape from her. The Alliance and Horde tracked her down and caught up to her in the now forgotten city which holds the answers to everything we need to know. A young male Blood Elf Rouge killed her and as she lay dying she told the Blood Elf.  
" I will return. My Taint will return and all shall die. One day a newborn Child will be born and carry the Taint within their veins... And so the cycle shall start again until my Heir is killed or you all die...you can never escape there will always be an Heir... Nocturnal wills it so..."  
I hope someone finds the Keeper soon... I heard the Blood Elves' High Preistess Shioria has the Taint and remains sleeping, slowly dying...  
I'm going to Ashenvale tomorrow, my contact has told me she found a book that goes into specific details about the Taint and Nocturnal. How Zara found such a book is beyond my wonder, finding useful things that have been lost has always been her specialty... As a Hunter I imagine she has lots of time on her hands, too bad she couldn't find the Ruined City though. I'll be meeting a Blood Elf Paladin there, Fenir, who is searching for answers on how to Cure the Taint as well. I believe Shioria is his elder sister. Poor lad.  
Well I'll let you know when I have more details.  
Until tomorrow my dear Journal!_

**- Master Warlock Azkar of the Worgen **


	2. The young Ambassador

_Meelok_

The green skinned female Troll stared out across Durotar from Orgimmar's walls, her male Windrider, Sitka, was lying behind her as he panted. The sun was hot today, hotter than normal for Durotar and Meelok pitied her mount. Ferri, her large female jungle cat, rested in the shade the catapult and growled lowly at Kale, the male blood talon raptor who had been Meelok's first companion, who wandered too closely to the agitated feline. She heard someone approach her and she turned to see the Windrider Captain staring at her. The Blood Elf woman was tall for her race with blue hair and the traditional green eyes; she was an ex-rouge no longer moving about the shadows and assassinating as was her line of work but had retired after a mission gone wrong where her team had been annihilated and she barely escaped with her life. She had tracked down the Warlock who had killed her group, they had been close friends…well as close as you could be friends with a rouge… and she spared the Orc Warlock and his Apprentice, who had helped in the killing of her friends, no mercy and left their corpses to rot in the mansion she had tracked them in.

"Ambassador." The Blood Elf mocked as she bowed. Meelok rolled her amber eyes.

"No need for dat ma frien'" The ex-rouge chuckled.

"Before long you will be speaking like one of us." Meelok sighed.

"Zuni tol' me tha same before…ya know." Sitka purred loudly upon sensing his Mistress' discomfort.

"He was a brave man and a good friend. I know you miss him Meelok, we never forget our first love." Meelok gave the Blood Elf a thankful look.

"What can I do for ya Hecatei? I'm sure ya didn' come up for talkin'" Hecatei laughed and this caused the Orc guards on the wall to glance at them.

"Of course my friend. Hellscream seeks your council. My words not his because we both know he wouldn't admit he needs advice from his friend… A female friend at that." Meelok frowned.

"Why don' he ask Pooka?" Hecatei scratched Kale's chin and earned a coo from the raptor.

"She's out with one of the Shaman Apprentices. Their master fell ill I believe and Pooka was asked to take the student out." Meelok gave an "I see" look and sighed.

"Very well." Hecatei chuckled.

"Soon! We shall have you fully converted to our silken and tongue flowing language." Meelok glared at the Blood Elf.

"I be Zandali through and through and nothin' gonna take that from this one." Hecatei chuckled and waved her off as she turned and headed for the stairs.

"Whatever you say my dear Hunter. Ta ta." Meelok glared after the Blood Elf before she whistled sharply and Ferri jumped from the shade and sat at Meelok's side. Kale just gave her an annoyed look and continued staring intensely at the new Orc guard who stood nervously under the sharp eyes of the raptor.

"Kale!" she called out and he finally went to her and she watched as the Orc relaxed and gave her a grateful look as she mouthed "I'm sorry".

"Sitka go an' cool off." Sitka rumbled and rubbed his head against her belly before he launched himself off the wall and unfurled his wings and glided to the flooded valleys where the wild kodo-like creatures had dwelled; she couldn't recall what species they really were. She had tried not to go down there.

She quickly went down the stairs, Ferri and Kale keeping on either side of her as they reached the bottom and joined the crowd that had been below them. Meelok kept her head down, not wanting to get into a fight on the way to see Hellscream like she normally did. She stopped when she heard a wail and her eyes followed the sound until they fell on the form of a male Troll child who was looking at all the different races walking around him. Every step he went to take was cut off and no one stopped to offer their help to the child. Meelok weaved through the crowd and the child looked up at her with panic-filled eyes.

"Lost?" Meelok offered and the panic slowly faded as he realized she was not here to harm him but wanted to help. He nodded and his eyes widened at the sight of the large black jungle cat. It was clear he hadn't seen one before. Ferri purred and rubbed her side against the boy and pushed him over being very much stronger than the boy. He laughed as he fell on his bottom and Ferri began to lick his face gleefully. The jungle cat had always liked children, even before Meelok had tamed the "dangerous and bloodthirsty" feline. Meelok helped the boy up and he clutched her hand as she weaved both of them through the crowd and stopped in front of Hellscream's domain, the boy clutched her pants and his fingers scratched at the soft mail hidden beneath her leather for added protection. Kale sat, as well as a raptor, could before he rolled onto his side and purred at the Tauren guard who was pulling a small package out of the knapsack beside him. He unfolded the package and held a small mound of raw meat in his hands where he crouched down and offered the prize to Kale who snatched the meat and gulped that down before going back and running his tongue across the Tauren's hand.

"He gonna bit ya hand off on' day mon." Meelok clucked her tongue at the guard who shrugged and went back to fussing over the blood talon raptor. Ferri followed Meelok inside and kept close to the boy who glanced around the room that Hellscream dwelled in. The Warchief had his back to them and no one else was in the building that the Hunter could see, Meelok's feet made no sound on the metal from years of learning the arts of stealth to get close to her prey before she shot them down with her arrows and the boy's little feet barely made a sound.

"Mon." she said and Hellscream tensed before he relaxed and turned, his gaze hardened at the sight of the small boy.

" He got nowhere ta go mon. I taking 'im back to Echo Islands where Mah'ren can have somethin' to keep her occupied." Hellscream went to say something but the glare the Hunter gave him silenced the Warchief. He sighed and shook his head, Meelok let go of the boy's hand and Ferri followed the boy as he explored the room with curious eyes.

"Wha ya need?" Meelok asked as she stood beside Hellscream keeping her voice low. Hellscream straightened his posture.

"Its Alaerunei." Meelok tilted her head.

"What of her?" Alaerunei was a good friend of Meelok's; she had helped the Hunter when she had finally broken down for the first time in years when Zuni died.

"I have my suspicions that she and Vol'jiin are…"

"Fucking?" Meelok offered and Hellscream gave her a "Did you really just say that? You're supposed to be a lady." look. Meelok shrugged.

"I grew up fightin' and learning ta win and not learnin' how ta be a lady." Hellscream stopped and then sighed. Of course she hadn't. She had grown up alongside him and Pooka and they all had harsh pasts. He sometimes thought she had the harshest of them all but she always came out strong… She'd always been the strongest of the 3 but he would never admit that. It was times like these he was glad the Troll had went out of her way and demanded that he was to be her friend whether he liked it or not. Pooka had just went along with it and stayed close to the Troll anyways, Meelok hadn't made fun of her inability to talk and Pooka had been grateful for that and had befriended the Troll and then befriended Hellscream when Meelok began to drag him everywhere.

" I believe he has mated her." Meelok raised an eyebrow.

"You're just findin' this out now mon? They've been toget'er for a couple months now." Hellscream could feel his left eye twitch as he mentally chanted over and over in his head.

He wasn't going to kill Meelok. He wasn't going to kill Meelok. He wasn't going to-

"You didn't want 'her did ya mon? That would've been fuckin' messed up mon." Hellscream wrapped a hand around the Hunter's throat and she stared up at him with trust weaved into her eyes. He hated her, hated her, Hated her….

But he loved her at the same time. She was his family now, his older sister. Just like Pooka. They were all they had growing up. They had become a family and… He couldn't do anything to harm either one of them.

Because it would kill him at the same time.

"Rune seems ta be doing better since Hitomi cured 'her. Poor lass, never seen her as upset as she was when Hitomi sacrificed herself to free Alaerunei of tha Taint." Hellscream had remembered when Meelok had brought in a hysterical Night Elf Mage who has attacking anything in her sight. Pooka had managed to calm the distressed and heartbroken Mage down and Meelok and Pooka had comforted Rune as best as they could. It wasn't until Vol'jiin and Alaerunei had showed up did the Night Elf calm down considerably; the Troll leader's mate had cradled the female and had murmured endearments to her. Now he knew better. He wouldn't do anything though fore harming Rune, Alaerunei or Vol'jiin would hurt Meelok or Pooka and he couldn't have that. Hellscream placed a hand on the Hunter's shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"What will you do now?" Meelok frowned. Now that she was an ambassador she didn't have much time for anything. But with a new Ambassador of the Troll people being trained she could go back to adventuring as she pleased.

"Maybe go an' see Shioria and see if there is any improvement since last I saw 'er." Hellscream gave a very faint smile. The Blood Elf Priestess who had been victim to the first fully-tainted Warlock who went by the name of Lithium, she was slowly dying but Pooka's healing abilities along with Vrixi's, a female Goblin Shaman who Meelok had met along their travels, had slowed the process down and had almost if not had completely numbed the pain that went with the curse. Shioria had not cried out in pain for hours upon hours since the joined healing powers and slept peacefully, everyone hoping for a cure. Her younger brother Fenir was a Paladin and was going through book after book on anything that might help his elder sister. Last he heard the Paladin had disappeared to read a book in Ashenvale, a Hunter had sent a letter saying that there was mention of the Taint in the book. Hellscream knew the Hunter fairly well. Her name was Zara, a female Night Elf Hunter who was neutral in the Horde-Alliance war and offered aid to both factions should she stumble upon them. She had healed him when he had been ambushed and his guards killed. She was a very bubbly Elf but Hellscream had enjoyed her company after he had gotten over the fact that she was a Night Elf. Meelok huffed and quickly darted her eyes to check on the boy and Ferri, they seemed to be doing well.

" There is word that the taint has spread to a small isolated Orc village in the Barrens…I would appreciate it if you checked in and…"

"Take care of those with tha Taint?" Hellscream nodded. He always reminded the Horde that only the strongest live but he still felt uncomfortable killing his own faction, killing potential arms for the Horde at the same time depending on how many children and young adults were present.

"Be safe Hunter." Meelok chuckled and pulled him down and kissed his cheek, her nub-size tusks brushing against his skin lightly.

"Don't kill too many people while I'm gone mon." and then she gathered the boy and Ferri and left with Kale and Sitka to the Echo Islands on her swift olive raptor mount leaving Hellscream to his dark thoughts.


End file.
